Blanket Stitch: How to Do It Step by Step

Blanket Stitch is a hand embroidery stitch that makes edge-finishing line of L shapes. Makers reach for it for applique edges, felt, blanket edges. It is rated beginner here, so it is a good stitch to learn early and practice on a small swatch before a real project.

1. Work from left to right. Bring the needle up on the lower line (or at the fabric edge). 2. Insert the needle on the upper line, a step to the right. 3. Bring the needle up directly below on the lower line, with the working thread under the needle tip. 4. Pull through to form an L. 5. Repeat with even spacing and height. Work slowly for the first few repeats, keep your tension even, and check the result against the steps before continuing across a whole row or motif.

The most common problems are: thread not under the needle, so no loop catches; uneven spacing on corners. Most are easy to spot if you pause after a few repeats and compare your work with the steps. Good light helps a great deal, especially with dark yarn or thread.

Stitches closely related to blanket stitch include Feather Stitch, Fly Stitch. Learning them together makes patterns easier to read, because many designs switch between related stitches to change texture, height or line. Each has its own step-by-step page in the stitch dictionary.